The overwhelming majority of economists tend to focus their investigations of macroeconomic performance on discrete, quantitative variables – measured and understood within the contours of a theory of competitive markets. Yet, much as historical forces have an array of qualitative impacts on specific economic conditions, so too do institutions and the particular structures of given markets. This is all to say that changes in institutional behavior, the links between domestic and international markets, and the interaction between private economic behavior and governmental policy all play a crucial role in determining particular aggregate outcomes.

The four essays in this part provide some insight regarding these institutional and structural parameters and their relationship to contemporary American economic decline. William Lazonick investigates the consequences of changes in the ways corporate management behaves for macroeconomic performance. The evolution of financial institutions is also significant in this regard, and this matter is addressed by Jane Knodell. Global economic interdependence has clearly transformed the structure of the contemporary American economy – although the exact mechanisms by which that international context has affected domestic industries has been poorly understood. James K. Galbraith and Paulo Du Pin Calmon have significant new research findings to report on this complicated issue. Finally, Jeffrey A. Hart offers a much needed comparative perspective on the ways in which various nations have tried to formulate effective corporate structures and governmental policies to further economic growth.